Grand Melee - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

It is a 5x4 slot with 1193 ways to win. The average RTP is 96.17% and the variance is medium to high. This Middle Ages-themed slot features knights at a tournament and has bonuses including sticky re-spins, symbol upgrades, symbol expansions, game area expansion and a bonus game. The max win is x5000.

Grand Melee Slot Review

Most of us probably know that the real Middle Ages weren’t as colourful and romantic as many of their media depictions, but that doesn’t stop slots from borrowing from the fun versions. That includes Grand Melee from Thunderkick, which puts its duelling tournament on a 5x4 layout and adds to the 1193 ways to win with multiple bonus features, most notably the sticky re-spins.

The Days of Chivalry

We’ve all encountered stories about how noble knights used to fight dragons and rescue fair maidens. These romanticised interpretations of Medieval times have an enduring popularity as we imagine ourselves in that idealised world. They also tend to involve lots of sporting contests between various heroes as they try to prove their mettle. It’s the perfect type of setting for a video slot.

On the Field

Grand Melee is one of those slots, and it takes place during some kind of martial tournament. Striped tents and hanging pennants fill the space around the reels, with the trees and castle just visible behind and the earthy brown heads of the peasant audience lining the bottom. It has attracted quite a few excited spectators, both on and off screen.

The hues are bright but the background details are hazy, adding to the sense it isn’t quite real. The reels are vivid enough, however, with a series of knight symbols straight out of a cartoon or comic book, each not just with their own bold colour but a distinct character. Card symbols become the crests on shields. Normally we’d associate such a rainbow selection of tones with Irish-themed games like Rainbow Cashpots.

Grand Melee RTP and Variance

The RTP of the Grand Melee slot is usually 96.17%, but some casinos may adjust it. The variance is medium to high.

How to Play Grand Melee

It’s time for all squires to be knighted:

1. This is one of those helpful slots that does tell you a little about its gameplay and features on its loading screen, so make sure you read it.
2. Need more information? Well, if our Grand Melee slot review and the loading screen aren’t enough, you’ll find the rules and paytable behind the little trophy symbol.
3. Underneath that symbol is a mute button should the sound annoy you.
4. Click on your current bet display if you want to adjust your stake to the level best suited to your balance and gameplay style.
5. You can hit spin now, but don’t relax. You may not be able to control the turning of the reels, but you still need to watch your budget and limits.
6. Knowing when to stop spinning is even more important than how you start.
7. Always play responsibly.

How to Win at Grand Melee

Most slots involve creating combinations of matching symbols, but they do it on different layouts and with different rules about paylines. The Grand Melee slot has the standard 5 reels that most modern slots sport, but there are 4 rows rather than the traditional 3, along with 1193 ways to win. That means winning symbols don’t have to follow narrow paylines but instead can run pretty much any way as long as they start on the left. Pays start with a sequence of 3.

Top Wins

• The five card symbols offer the lowest payout potential.
• Themed symbols fill the top five positions on the paytable.
• You need 6-of-a-kind matches to score the biggest wins.
• In the base game, the biggest available single win is finding the golden knight with the crown six times. His win multiplier is 10x your bet.
• Overall, the max win available is x5000.

Grand Melee Bonuses

Sticky re-spins are first among the Grand Melee bonus features, potentially leading to symbol upgrades, symbol expansion or game area expansion, but there’s also an additional bonus game.

Sticky Re-spins

When triggered, a random symbol will appear above the reels. If 5 of those symbols appear below at the same time, they’ll become sticky and remain in place as the reels re-spin. Re-spins continue until sticky symbols stop appearing.

Symbol Upgrade

If the symbol upgrade symbol appears, every sticky symbol will be upgraded to a higher-value symbol with a bigger win multiplier.

Symbol Expansion

This symbol can make sticky symbols grow so they fill all 4 positions on a single reel.

Game Area Expansion

A game area expansion symbol adds an additional row to the bottom of the reels, and it provides more ways to win. The maximum number of rows is 7.

Bonus game

You need to find the bonus scatter symbol at least 5 times to trigger this feature. You’ll be awarded a number of free spins equivalent to the number of bonus symbols. The bonus game can be combined with sticky re-spins.

Max-win 5,000x

Volatility High

Top RTP 96.17%

Grand Melee Review - Summary 

The Grand Melee slot attempts to create the feeling of a grand adventure but with a sense of fun rather than real risk. It has more ways to win than your average 5-reel slot, and the combination of features is unusual. It makes for a refreshing change from the traditional cascading symbols and free spins bonus that many slots of this type like to display. As always, random results mean that finding a big total win or triggering your preferred feature can never be guaranteed.
 

Disclaimer: Grand Melee trademark / license is owned by Thunderkick. This site is not endorsed by Thunderkick.